Lesson 4: Chinese Language Tones 课程四: 中文声调
Chinese language is a tonal language whereby different tones denote different meanings. There are four tones which are denoted by the following tone marks: (1) ̶ (2) ̷ (3) ˅ and (4) \.

Figure of Tones:

For syllables with a simple final, the tones are marked above the final. Examples are é, lú, and yì.

For syllables with a nasal final, the tones are marked above a, o or e if present. Otherwise marked above I, u or ü. Examples are dóng, jīng and xún.

For syllables with a compound final, the tones are marked in priority of a, o, e, I, u and ü. Examples are duō, jiǎng and xué.

Finally for syllables with finals iu and ui, the tones are marked above the latter vowel. Examples are niú, shuǐ and huī.